Chapter 7: Here We Go
Xiu Li leaned back in the hard chair at her gate in the Fennley International Airport, shut her eyes, and turned up her music, Come On Get Higher, by Matt Nathanson, tuning out the rest of the world. After a few moments, she sighed and opened her eyes, bored already. Why had they told her to get to the airport so early? Who needs to be at the airport five hours early? No one. She needed to meet two of the other selected, but how long could that possibly take? Certainly not five hours.
Her eyes scanned the terminal, jumping from person to person. Airports were the very best places to people watch. You find the very strangest people at airports. It's like they are their own world. Everyone is sleep deprived; someone is always running around screaming; and no one knows what day it is, let alone what time it is. A breeding ground for interesting people. Take the old man sitting across the way, he had been staring at the coffee mug in his hands for at least five minutes, as if he was having a staring contest with it. Or the woman who had taken twenty minutes to eat a soft pretzel. All she did for twenty minutes was sitting in her chair and eat her pretzel. The child who was somehow sleeping with his back on the floor and his feet straight up in the air. The man who was running through the terminal shouting in Russian and wearing only his pajamas and crocs. The mother with four children who looked like she was just about ready to tear off all her hair, possibly with her head along with it. She could really use a coffee.
Xiu looked down at her own green tea. It was sub par, a cheap, barely-green-tea-enough-to-call-itself-green-tea version version from Starbucks, but at least it was green tea. She took a sip, sighed, and focused on a tall, blonde girl who was walking with great purpose. Xiu couldn't tell where she was looking because the girl was wearing sunglasses, but she seemed to be walking right towards her. Maybe she was one of the other selected.
Sure enough, the girl walked straight up to her, a bright smile on her face, and held out her hand.
"Hi! I'm Katherine, Katherine Bower. You must be Xiu Li. I could tell because of the, you know," the girl, Katherine, apparently, gestured to her own head, "pink. Seriously cool by the way, I love it!"
"Right…" Xiu said slowly, taking a moment to look the other girl over. She was certainly very friendly. She seemed nice enough.
"Do you know which other girl is supposed to meet us? I think I got a list, but I lost it on the last flight. I only recognized you because of the hair. Kinda hard to forget."
"Ya, I guess it stands out. I don't know who the other girl is, but I think I have my list here somewhere." Xiu put down her tea and reached into her bag for her wallet. She pulled it out and rifled through the receipts and space change before she found the slip of paper with three names on it.
Xiu Li, Fennley
Sybil Son, Likely
Katherine Bower, Zuni
"Sybil Son I guess. From Likely. Doesn't ring any bells."
"Same. They should have given us pictures. I guess we're lucky we have you and your pink hair. Hopefully this Sybil girl remembers your hair too."
"Ya, no kidding."
"Um, Hi?"
The two girls looked up to see a dark haired girl standing in front of them.
"Are you Sybil?" Katherine asked.
"Ya, but it's Joan actually. I assume you're Xiu?" Joan, like Katherine, gestured to Xiu's hair.
"Yep, nice to meet you."
"Which would make you Katherine," Joan turned to Katherine, who smiled and nodded.
The three were interrupted by an announcement over the loudspeakers.
"Flight 1754 with service to Tierra del Rey will begin now begin boarding. We would now like to invite aboard our passengers with children under the age of three and those who need extra time to get down the jetway."
...o0o...
Katherine Bower put down her book and looked over at the two girls seated next to her. Joan, who was in the aisle seat, and Xiu, who was next to Katherine, were both asleep already, despite the fact that they were barely off the ground. She smiled; they seemed to be nice people. Joan though, something about her was nagging Katherine. She could have sworn she had seen her before.
Katherine put her book away in her bag before popping her earbuds in, turning up the sweet sound of The Beatles, and opened her web browser. She had already looked Sybil Son up, but maybe that hadn't been the right way to go. She quickly typed "Joan Son" into the search bar and hit enter. The first several links were, of course, Selection related, but once she got passed the recent interviews and news articles about Joan Son, the Selected, she found what she was looking for.
"Performer and Producer Joan Son Opens Up About Plans For the Life After 'Misfits'"
Katherine clicked the link and quickly skimmed the article about her fellow selected's dream to become a music producer until she found information about how Joan had been in a band called "Misfits" with a guy named Kade Lee. Katherine didn't recognize the band, but it would make sense that she recognized Joan, apparently they had been pretty famous.
Katherine sat back in her seat and slipped her phone into her pocket. She hadn't really thought about the fact that there would be famous people at the palace with her. Of course there had been names she recognized; Lissette Mondanado, a supermodel; Ruta Sepetys, the daughter of some politician or another; and Thomas Peck, Avery Mozen, and Aaron Seaver, all famous actors. She knew they were Selected, just like her, but she hadn't thought about actually meeting them and getting to know them. She shook her head; maybe this was going to be weirder than she thought.
Before she could let herself go too far down that rabbit hole of a daydream, she was interrupted by an announcement saying the flight attendants would soon be coming around to pass out the complimentary drinks and snacks.
Katherine turned her mind away from daydreams about famous men and instead focused on what was ahead of her. In a few short hours she would be arriving at the Domus Aurea, the Royal Palace of Illéa. She would meet King Nils, Prince Gunnar, and Prince Katarina. She would be living in the same building as them. It was insane. She, Katherine Bower, a teacher barely out of school, would be sleeping at the palace tonight.
She lay her head back on the headrest and smiled, her eyes gently closing as she continued to daydream about life at the palace.
Katherine was jolted awake as the plane landed roughly in Tierra del Rey. She rubbed her eyes and looked out the window. It was rainy and overcast, certainly not the sunny welcome one might expect when arriving for the Selection.
She, Xiu, and Joan were ushered off the plane and into a large room. The walls were lined with cocktail snacks and drinks, but no one seemed to be paying them much attention. The room was bustling with people, people Katherine could only assume were other Selected. They all seemed to be getting to know each other, but before she could go introduce herself, a woman standing at the front of the room cleared her voice and clapped her hands three times.
"Now that all of you are here, we will begin. My name is Evelyn Pruitt. I am the Royal Planner and will oversee all Selection activities, your personal needs during your stay at the palace, as well as your education throughout the Selection. You may address me as Ma'am or Mrs. Pruitt." At that, a few people snickered, causing Evelyn to stop and give them a bone chilling stare. "You will treat me, along with every other person at the palace, no matter their position, with respect. At all times. If I, or His Majesty, deem your behavior disrespectful or unkind there will be consequences. Many believe His Majesty is the only individual with the ability to eliminate individuals from the Selection, however, I, too, possess this power, and I assure you, I am a much less lenient person. I will not hesitate to eliminate any one of you.
"Now, in a few short moments you will be escorted to a limousine with the fellow Selected you traveled here with. When you arrive at the palace, you will be shown directly to the Men's Room and Women's Room, respectively. There, you will each receive a makeover, after which you will have your first interview. Once your interview is complete, you will be shown to your rooms and left to situate yourselves for the afternoon. Dinner will begin at precisely 7:00; tardiness will not be tolerated. Your maids will help you prepare and find your way around the palace. You will not meet His Majesty tonight, however, his sister, the Princess Katarina will be joining you for dinner.
"Sons and Daughters of Illéa, welcome to the Selection."
...o0o...
Joan Son looked out the window of the limousine she was seated in before turning to Xiu, who was sitting next to her.
"So, uh, why are you here? Sorry, that sounded super creepy."
"No, no, its fine! I guess I didn't really have a specific reason for entering. It's the kind of thing not a lot of people get to experience, so I figured why not. I probably won't fall in love with the prince, or king now I suppose, but it will be a once in a lifetime experience."
"That makes a lot of sense actually," Joan laughed.
"Ya. What about you?"
"Oh, its kinda a long story. Basically, my grandfather made me enter."
Katherine looked up from the book she was reading, "That sounds interesting."
"Ha, I guess. He made me and my cousin enter for political gain. He threatened to disown her and make me the heir to the family business, and that would not end well for anybody."
"Wow, I just entered to make friends and maybe help the pri–king," Katherine laughed.
"Well, we all have our reasons. What matters is that we're here now." Joan turned away from the conversation for a moment to look out the window. They were just leaving the city, traveling up into the mountains that overlooked the city and ocean. The view was beautiful, even with the gray weather. She could hardly imagine what it would look like in a clear, sunny day.
After about fifteen minutes of driving into the mountains and away from the city, forest opened and Joan's eyes locked on the magnificent palace. It rose above the forest, almost as if it was a part of the mountain itself. The towers and turrets poked into the clouds, causing it to look like a castle out of a fairy tale. After only a moment, it disappeared behind the trees again, but before long the limousine pulled out of the forest and onto the palace grounds. All three girls clamour over to the window to watch in awe as they pulled up to the large front doors behind the other limousines.
Once they came to a stop, the driver came around to their door and offered his hand to help them climb out. All three were silent as they stepped out of the limousine to join the rest of the Selected. They were all gathered in front of the doors, and once the last girls and boys had joined them, the doors were pulled open and they were led into the grand entrance hall. It was some of the most beautiful architecture Joan had ever seen. Tall pillars lined the walls and ornate gold and marble details were everywhere. The ceiling was covered in a large, glass skylight. In front of them was a beautiful staircase, leading up and to the left and right. They all looked around in awe as they were led up the stairs. When they reached the landing, Evelyn instructed the ladies to follow her to the Women's Room, up the stairs to the left, and the men to follow the butler to the Men's Room, up the stairs to the right.
When Joan entered the Women's Room, she was immediately ushered over to a makeup and hair station, where three maids began teasing her hair and rubbing creams and ointments into her skin. They took off, barely asking her input. She was given a natural makeup look with a nude lip and a sleek bun at the nape of her neck. Almost before she could even blink, she was ushered out of the hair and makeup station and over to a clothing rack where she was told to choose a dress. She chose a black, strapless dress with a fuller, mid calf length tulle skirt. Once she chose a dress she was given a pair of black stilettos and told to go wait on for her interview.
She walked over to where some of the other girls were sitting and joined a group of them on a couch. She thanked a maid who gave her a glass of water before leaning back on the couch and closing her eyes with a sigh. What had she gotten herself into?
Hello everyone! Sorry for the long wait, I have been busy with school and personal stuff and ffn was being difficult about posting. Anyway, here I am, back at last! I have another chapter almost done, so that should be out at some point in the near future. For now, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! If you have any questions, comments, constructive criticism, or ideas for how I could better portray your character, please do not hesitate to shoot me a PM here or on Discord!